Boats are used in environments in which the contents of the boat are subjected to moisture and other conditions that can have a detrimental effect on their durability and longevity. Covers are often used during use and non-use in order to protect the boat's contents. Long-term exposure to moisture and sunlight can have detrimental effects such as premature failure, material degradation, and fading that affects many of the materials that are used to make the contents of a boat. A boat may contain a variety of things including interior seating, boat controls, recreational equipment, fishing supplies, electronic devices, infrastructure components, and others. All of these items benefit from being covered to reduce their exposure to environmental conditions.
Covers for boats, especially recreational boats, are typically a large piece of material such as canvas that is placed over open areas of a boat and secured directly to the boat's structure via snaps or other fastening devices. The process for covering a boat and securing the cover in place can be a time consuming process. The cover itself can be a heavy item and it must be lifted and positioned in its proper orientation. Further, the fasteners must be oriented in the correct configuration to line-up with the corresponding fasteners on the boat's structure. Each time a recreational boat is used, the user must typically remove the cover, store it in a remote location and then re-install the cover when the user returns. This uncovering, storing, and recovering process each time a boat user uses a boat is undesirable because of the effort and time involved but is necessary to prolong the life and value of the boat and its contents. Therefore, a new cover is needed to reduce the effort and time associated with covering, storing and uncovering a boat.